The novel features two notable inventions: Bokononism, a religion of lies “that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy,” and ice-nine, a type of ice that forms at any temperature up to 114.4 degrees and continues freezing all of the liquid it contacts in a kind of chain reaction. The story’s two principal figures are Bokonon, the religion’s founder, and Dr. Felix Hoenikker, inventor of ice-nine. The narrator, a journalist who calls himself Jonah, confronts the opposing forces of rationality and irrationality.

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November 11, 1922 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. April 11, 2007 New York, New York American writer noted for his wryly satirical novels who frequently used postmodern techniques as well as elements of fantasy and science fiction to highlight the horrors and ironies of 20th-century civilization. Much...

writing that juxtaposes morbid or ghastly elements with comical ones that underscore the senselessness or futility of life. Black humour often uses farce and low comedy to make clear that individuals are helpless victims of fate and character.